The Pursuit of Coverage

Having a daughter changes everything. I'd always considered myself a modest person. I've always been shocked and appalled with the amount of flesh that is in our faces constantly. No change there. But this daughter thing really bumps it up a notch.

Last week I put a one-piece swimsuit on my 4yo--one that was handed down. Too high at the hips. Too low in the front. She immediately pointed out to me how her "chest" was just barely covered. I was happy to know she was thinking properly.

She was eager to go look for swimsuits today. I've given it a lot of prayerful consideration over the last 2-3 years and have my limits. Limits, I might add, that are getting less tolerant. I used to think a one-piece was sufficient. I no longer feel that is enough. Couple that with growing older and the wisdom cellulite, plus bulges here and there I've gained and covering myself as also become priority.

I looked at a bunch of online places this week. All the standards and few surprises. There was this...
...from this company, which frankly scared me more than most swimsuits. It's a great alternative, but I'm not quite "there" yet. I realized that swim shorts and a shirt were more up my alley. Interestingly enough, I read a blog post not too long ago about a mom dressing her daughter like this and I (for a split second...or maybe an hour) thought she was nuts. I was so wrong. My apologies.

I was a bit worried that my daughter would see all the flowery, bright colored suits and have a difficult time with shorts and a surf tee, but she didn't. She actually preferred them and said she would be more comfortable. Hallelujah. I bought myself a pair of knee length swim shorts and I'll be much more comfortable too! :)

Lost and Found

He asked me why I kept checking on our 4yo. After all, she was with about 6 other kids playing away. My eyes, however, were on the swollen creek--the fast-flowing swollen creek. So I continued to check on her.

I answered his question with my mother's brain: "There are so many kids, they wouldn't know if she wasn't with them. I just want to see that she is."

Then she wasn't.

And they didn't know where she was.

Nobody knew.

The overwhelming panic and horror came on like a strong wind. I ran for the creek and looked it up and down, screaming her name. All the adults and children started looking for her. Back and forth I ran always with my eyes searching for her white tee and her smiling face. Always looking in the water; out of the water; in the water. No sign of her.

Five minutes. Ten minutes. Fifteen minutes.

I was shaking so bad I could hardly stand and as much as I felt myself about to collapse in a pile, I ran with that much more frantic fear.

Then I heard the voice of an adult saying they had her. I broke out in the fastest run of my life. There was another mom...a mom I didn't know, holding my baby and running toward me with the biggest smile on her face. Then I had my baby in my arms. Tears streaming down both our faces. "Mommy! I couldn't find you!"

"I know, baby. I couldn't find you either!" She was about 6-8 houses away.

The mom who found her gave me the biggest hug. "I have five kids. I know," she said. I'm so grateful for that mom who's name I didn't even get!

I don't know what the other parents were thinking during the searching, but I know what I was thinking. And now I'm nothing but grateful to God for His mercies and His loving hands upon us...and for my Mother's Day gift...

My children in my arms.

The History of Slavery

We read a really fabulous book this week: "Amos Fortune: Free Man", by Elizabeth Yates.

We've begun to near the start of the Civil War with our Truthquest History. I've looked forward to this topic for quite awhile since I learned absolutely nothing about it in school. All I've ever known I learned from movies like "Gone With the Wind", and the mini-series "North and South" (Can I just say, Patrick Swayze!). We know the north wore blue, the south wore grey. I was taught the north was right, the south was wrong. I was taught that it was all about slavery...evil people keeping slaves.

I remember very clearly reading a forum post about this war, and "hearing" very angry voices. This puzzled me a bit, and like a train wreck, I stopped to "watch". I was mortified to learn that not everyone thinks as highly of Abraham Lincoln as we always have. Gasp. I also learned that many people refuse to call it the "Civil War", but the "War Between the States". Lastly, I was shocked with declarations that this particular war was not about slavery. What could they possibly mean? As a rather entrenched northerner, I wandered. Indoctrinated? Most assuredly.

Michelle Miller, author of Truthquest, has done a fabulous job with her dialogs proceeding each area of study. Though not really that close to actually studying the war, (we probably won't get into the war until fall) she has laid the ground work for the growing un-rest. Issues of states rights are new to me (in regard to the North/South conflict).

She has also begun to show us just how entrenched in slavery this nation had become. To her credit, she speaks generally of various types of slavery. Including Biblical. That really has given us "Ah-ha" moments. As we've studied God's Word and learned about Biblical principles of self-government and "conscience as our most sacred of property" we better understand the idea that we are all slaves to sin and we often choose slavery, rather than a freedom that may be more costly. We reflect on the Israelites and their flight from Egypt; their constant turning from freedom of Godly worship to slavery of having things handed to them (compromise) and even today, we look at our country and the many loss of liberties that will eventually choke us and enslave us.

So as we read the book by Elizabeth Yates, we marveled how this slave turned free man, found his freedom in honoring God. We read how he described so many white men as being slaves to their money, their drink, their hatred, their thoughts. So many kinds of slavery!... I hadn't realized that this book was a true story. I highly recommend it!

As we've read further, and are getting more into this part of our nations HIStory, certain things have begun to make more sense to me. For instance, how a nation could actually turn guns on one another. The weird part is, I can kinda imagine it happening again. Hmmm. I look forward to studying this topic further and getting an even better picture of the truth.

Little Steps Are Nice

Recognizing little steps has been very encouraging to me on our quest for healthier, more simple living. Yesterday, for example, was the first time I poured vinegar into my rinse aid dispenser in the dish washer! Vinegar that is a lot cheaper than Jet Dry and also not toxic. My children (oldest) can even fill it now. That's a good feeling. Another thing to not have to buy!

We also made our second batch of laundry soap. Love it. We have had no adverse affects from the change over at all! Two cups lasted over a month! That's at least 30 washes; more like 45! Works like a charm. Mr. Sensitive Nose--that would be the husband--even approves! Still haven't finished my giant box of Bounce sheets yet, so not sure what I'm going to do then for softener. I'm still in "discovery" mode!

Eight Days

Only eight more days until the release of Prince Caspian. I should say, the very long awaited release. Two years and we can hardly wait another eight days! Son is still in the midst of reading the book on his own. We read it together once before. We figured it all up last night and he has to read 24 pages a day to get it done if he wants to see the movie on opening day. There are few movies that inspire us to such actions. Heehee! The Chronicles fit the bill! I hope we don't have to wait this long for the next installment.

We Saw It, and Other Bird Tales

Today we saw a Baltimore Oriole outside our schoolroom window. The screams from the children sent it across the street but not before we watched it's large streaks of orange flash before our eyes. It was beautiful and the only one we've ever seen. We want it back!

Though we thoroughly enjoy most things "bird", we had a rather bad experience with our feeder experiment during the first few chapters of "Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day". We put up two, two-litre bottle feeders with different feed for the "experiment". We were literally ATTACKED and INFESTED and OVERRUN...BIG TIME...by Brown-headed Cowbirds. Yuck.


There had to be over a hundred and they devoured the seed in about 24 hours. My husband demanded we remove the offending feeder and "never put it up again!" Well, we bought a finch feeder because we'd seen numerous beautiful Yellow Finches. We weren't sorry! They came in numbers, but not offensive numbers! We truly enjoyed them. However, we'd like to attract other beauties to our yard without the Brown-headed Cowbirds descending from above. Every time we go to Lowes, we walk past the feeders and think about all the bird sightings we're missing.


We are in a relatively new development, but there are woods way behind us. Between us and the woods, is a golf course and a lake. We see all kinds of water birds, which is fascinating. We have a few Heron in the Spring that are quite exciting! Mostly, Geese and Ducks the rest of the time. The only other birds we've seen are Red-Winged Black Birds. Oh...and the Sparrows.


Let me just tell you...we have a psycho sparrow that has become rather "attached" to our house. We haven't been able to determine if there is a nest, but we have seen it with at least one other sparrow. But THIS sparrow first made itself known by attacking our patio door. And attacking. And attacking! It would flutter right against the glass and grab hold of the pane dividers. THEN, just when we thought that was weird enough, it began doing it to EVERY window in our house. We have 30+ windows! It would even attack the side-panel window by our front door! On our porch! AND our second story windows. All sides of the house. Very strange! We've been told it may like it's reflection? Who knows! Weird bird. You should see the poopy mess on my door steps! Ick! It has eased off a bit sense we've been outside most every day. I'm afraid he may be a permanent "resident" though. We saw him again today, right after our Oriole. Just what I need, MORE window cleaning. (Note: I've really, really tried to get pictures of him in the act. It's hopeless!)

So those are our up to date bird tales. If you have any experience you'd like to share to help us in our quest, I'd love the advice! Down with Cowbirds, UP with Orioles!!!

Dried Up

Boy! I just haven't had a thing to write this week. I've been so busy with the yard, that when I do get to the computer, my brain's a pile of mushy goo. I'm only writing this because once I do, I expect an onslaught of ideas to write about! Doesn't it always work that way?!!! :) Hope you all are having a great week!

The Envious Heart

Our family just watched the documentary, "The Journey Home". This is a Christian film about a father who gives up his job to take his family out into the boondocks to live more simply and spend more time as a family. It's a really good film.

Farming becomes their life and source of income. They go from 5 kids to 11. The mom goes from curled black hair--a nice 80's style!--to lower-back length grey. Mine would no doubt be the same color without Garnier Nutrisse. Designer clothes, to blue jumpers. It's a common story these days. It seems the longer we homeschool, the more of these types of stories we hear.

It all could not be further from our suberb/neighborhood existence...where you can't even have a clothes line--against the rules!

There are so many things appealing about their story and lifestyle. Spending NO money, looks good. Needing nothing looks good. Having your children unaffected and untouched by anything inappropriate, looks good. No urban drama. Nothing but reliance on God and total discipline.

It makes me a bit envious, though I know very well that God made individuals and the two grown up individuals in this house, wouldn't last a week (or a day!). But I really find myself asking why? Why couldn't we? Why haven't we?

Really, the craving--the desire--is to be in a perceived sinless life. Never making bad choices. Never spending more than we have. Never allowing our children too much computer time... Never yelling. Always having the house in order; the meals to perfection (including healthy). Being perfect role models and having the children be little saints. Utopia. Heaven?

Doing all the things we want to do and never doing the things we don't! Of course, this is not only unrealistic, but sin filled envy in it's own right. Instead of keeping up with the Jones', it's keeping up with the Smith's--the homeschool Smith's...the homeschooling, homesteading Smith's. The "look how obedient we are to God" Smith's. Though, of course, the "Smith's" would never say that or probably even think that--I'm just saying...

There is a fine line between contentment and obedience. I know that most of the time when I am discontent, I am in disobedience. Not to the world, or any lifestyle. Not to a set of rules or laws. But to God, whom in my own personal relationship, I have not followed the Holy Spirit's leading. I'll take my eyes off the Father for an instant and the instant is a week, or longer. The damage I do in that time has consequences. Now I better understand why my parents used to ask for the Lord's return. They were always so eager for better things. I get it.

I'm so thankful that the Lord has a hold on me. He gently turns my eyes toward Him and those eyes are able to see things in a new light. They see things more for what they are. Sometimes those things are unwanted and hard to envision, but they are true because of Jesus.

I want to live each moment in truth. I want to set aside my selfish affectations and do the job He has given me for such a time as this. With that goal firmly planted in my brain, the days look easier. Without it, they look impossible. I'm tired of impossible days.

Psa 90:1-17 ESV [A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.] Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. (2) Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (3) You return man to dust and say, "Return, O children of man!" (4) For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. (5) You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: (6) in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. (7) For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. (8) You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. (9) For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. (10) The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. (11) Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? (12) So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (13) Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! (14) Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. (15) Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. (16) Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. (17) Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!

I Want to Ride My Bicycle

Getting instructions.

Ready...set...

You're alright! Get back on that bicycle!

That a Girl!

Next day... Not tentative, but at FULL speed!

The art of balancing.


You go girl!



Mission accomplished!

She learns quickly.
She is fearless.
She is determined.
She's not yet five.

Veggie Uprising

I actually did it!

I say that with elation, relief, and maybe a bit of disbelief. I actually did it. IT would be planning, building and PLANTING a vegetable garden. It's in. It's done--well, almost. Still have to put the trellis up and get a few more goodies to put in.

The first box.

The second box.


I had excellent help!

This is a big, BIG deal. This is HUGE. This is hilarious! (I giggle!) My mom, in heaven, is having a laugh over her "won't eat vegetables" daughter planting vegetables. Everyone who knows me is wondering if I'll ever eat any of them. I know they are thinking it. I can read it on their faces! :) Whether I will, or won't has yet to be determined, but I did IT. Whew!

Now, if I have to pick off bugs, I may quit. If I SEE a bug, I may quit. I'm praying for no bugs. I wonder if you're allowed to pray for no bugs?! It was one thing being up to my elbows in cow poop and compost, but I draw the line at vegetable eating bugs. Bleck!

This FIRST deserves a reward. There's ice cream, or chocolate, or chocolate ice cream....hmmm. The lawn mowing guy (not the husband, who hates to mow) is not going to be happy about having to maneuver around my gardens. I hope he doesn't find out about my bug "thing" and get even...

My inspiration? Well...there's this....

And this....

They love vegetables! Thank you, God! My little healthy eaters get to eat fresh veggies! Of course, the husband LOVES 'em too. Could never figure out how he has put up with my vegetablelessness (Is that a word?)

But there was also this mighty fine read: "The All New Square Foot Garden", by Mel Bartholomew. The best non-fiction gardening book I've ever read, and that's saying something!

Oh...We did have a near tragedy. Upon throwing down the hose, the sprayer came on and aimed directly at my precious girl, froze her to her seat (literally), soaking her to the bone and causing a short burst of tears. Thankfully, dry, warm clothes made everything just fine!

I'm definitely having a gardening "moment". Moments are a good thing!

Pitchin' It

I just did something that I have never done in my life (at least that I can recall). I got 3/4th of the way through a book and decided to pitch it--back in the library return pile. It was so dull, I didn't have any desire to continue. It kinda' surprised me because it was from an author I usually like. It was "Mark's Story" by Tim LaHaye. Now don't get me wrong...the Bible part was great. It was the fictionalized portion that was sadly lacking. I suppose that could be because we don't really know that much about Mark. Anyhoo. I gave up. It made me tired. I guess with my book post and the reminder that I have a billion good books to read, I figured why waste my time on an icky. BTW, "John's Story" was great! So go figure.

Well, I anxiously retrieved another book from my pile. This one, "Laddie", by Gene Stratton-Porter. I LOVE her books! "Girl of the Limberlost" is an all-time favorite, as is "Freckles". We'll see how this one works. So far, so good. Can hardly put it down.

Phone Call Day

This is phone call day. It can't be put off any longer. I dread phone call day because it usually means appointments, and appointments are inconvenient. I try to have as few phone call days a year as possible. One is too many!

I put them off longer than I should until they take on a life of their own. On my list is...

• Find a repairman to service the washing machine and dishwasher BEFORE they blow up.
• Find a dentist and get my teeth cleaned BEFORE they rot and fall out of my head.
• Call the GYN...ick. Never like calling that one.
• Get Rx refill.
• Call Retinal Specialist to re-schedule appointment I missed.
• Re-schedule dentist appointments for kids (that we also missed).
• Call alarm company.
  

I'm sure there are more. I'd much rather scrape the crud off the inside of trash cans than make these calls. I must have issues.

Books: Using Your Resources

If you've known me for very long, then you know I'm not only a Bibliophile, but a picky one at that. Once I discovered real living books, due in large part to homeschooling, Truthquest, Jan Bloom and Gladys Hunt, the rest, as they say, was history.

Bibliophile: noun
a person who loves or collects books, esp. as examples of fine or unusual printing, binding, or the like.

I've collected a blue-million books--all of the highest caliber--most having been published prior to 1965 (when the Bible was banned from public schools, and the re-writing of history began). As my personal library has grown, so have we...encountering the most incredible of literary adventures, characters, and historical truth and fancy.

Like many decisions that homeschoolers face, the idea of using the resources we have, in this case books, usually arrives on the scene. For many, it will arrive too late. To avoid that happening, there are a few things to consider regarding the best use of these treasures. With some thought and planning, you can change your focus, save money, and get a maximum impact for your efforts. If you have shelves of books and no strategy to read them, they are as dust in the wind. And dusty, too!

We are all too aware that there are only so many hours in the day--so many days in the year, so many years in childhood.
A reading plan for the long haul, is a great idea.

You might say, at this point, that your family are big readers so you don't consider having a reading plan a necessity, yet as the children grow and more and more demands are being made upon your time, reading aloud, library visits, choosing good books, may all slip by the wayside.

Now, this is in no way about guilt, or regret, but about opportunity! As we've overcome previous planning bungles, I more clearly understand the value of a more thoughtful course of action. I suppose one of the first things that can bring us to this point, is the passing of picture books. Suddenly our little readers, move to paragraphs, chapter books, larger books, etc. Not to return to former "glories", as you will. You find yourself going through your picture books; purging, packing away, remembering, or having no memory of a certain book at all! It's the same for all levels of reading.

How you organize your books will be the one thing that has the greatest impact on your reading. Most families have shelves in every room. Many times this is out of necessity, for many it's habit or even tradition. Every child should have books in their room, for example. That is a long held tradition. If that is important to you, then you need to consider that in your planning.

First, you must have a list of every book you own and it's author. If you are spread-sheet crazy, you could include genre, year of publication, and reading level. Having a list will help you lesson-plan, choose wisely, buy more strategically, etc. Library Thing is another choice. They limit the number of books you can put on a list. You can either buy a subscription, or make multiple lists.

Books that are specifically for school subjects need to be separated by those subjects and arranged in order of their use. If you study science based on a chronological creation sequence, astronomy books will probably be first. We study history chronologically, so our history books are in that order. Books don't get missed, or forgotten. They are only passed up if age-appropriateness is a factor and since we will cover all of history twice before graduation, we'll be revisiting the same shelves.

It is important to include biographies in these sections, as well. If you have a biography of a scientist, put it where and when you will study it. If you're more likely cover it in history, than science, put it with the history books. This is also where a list can help because you can't have a book in two places at once!

Another good example of books to place in chronological order would be missionary stories and biographies. Then you are more apt to read them at the place in history where they had their impact.

One of the biggest hurdles for me was collections; book sets. I began collecting Landmark books and had them in a beautiful row on the shelf. They weren't with the history books, so guess what quickly became apparent? They were being forgotten. Getting them moved to our history shelves was necessary (and still ongoing at my house!).

Include historical fiction in your history shelves. This category can have a rather large spectrum: picture books on up. While most people would separate their historical fiction, since we "teach" with ours, it's more helpful to have it at our fingertips.

So what about the rest of your fiction? My shelves bear the same range in book types and reading abilities as most. I always kept them in alphabetical order by title, but that only showed benefit when listing them or trying to find an elusive volume for history (before I changed my system of order!). One of the whole points of this post is this: Keep your fiction books in order of reading age!

If you really want certain books to be read before "it's too late", then they have to be in the "next" section: that section that your child looks to next for their book choices.

Here's where the long term plan comes into play. With your books in this order, as a child grows in their ability and taste, they move from section to section, without missing that gem of a book that was at one time too difficult for them, but is now just right!

This thought does take a bit of maintaining. You don't want books put away in the wrong section. You may never find them! But if you have a system easily available to your family, you'll be pleased with the results. We use a basket that the kids put their books in so that I can put them where I want them. This habit has helped to show them order and reason.

Now that you have your books in a usable order, how do you actually go about reading them? The obvious answer--the strategy-- would be to set aside time and times for reading! I know that is not always the easiest thing though. Here is where I learned to make some of those excellent choices that come with being a homeschooler! Have your children (and yourself) acquire the habit of always having a book with you in the car. Exactly how many hours a week are we in the car?!!

Do you read? Do you read for yourself? Most do to some degree, but this is also a great habit. One which your children see and emulate. Monkey see, monkey do. Let them see you reading the Bible daily, they'll want to read their Bibles. Let them see you reading other great books, and they, too, will want to read really great books.

And reading aloud! If you haven't begun reading aloud, it's never too late to start. You will never regret it! Here is a great resource for inspiration, as well as the books I listed at the start. We began a more regular read-aloud time with Lamplighter books! Wow! They have created a passion within us, for reading together! Then, consider having your read-alouds with you where ever you go. Carry them around the house with you; in the car, etc. You never know when you will have ten minutes on the way to friends to read aloud (that is, if the husband is driving!) or a few minutes of play break gathered together in the yard!

And since we are talking about habit, develop the habit of giving. Give your individual children time to read each day. What a fabulous gift! Thirty minutes out of their day will not kill anyone or deprive them of play. They will come to love that time of quiet adventure. It is also a more adequate rest than say...none!

If you are choosing the very best of books for your children (a whole other post!) then it will not take much to have them chomping at the bit to read more!

Let's fact it! We take books with us. We carry the really good ones in our hearts and minds; remembering what great stories were told and the joy of meeting each hero and heroine. I distinctly remember the first time I read the "Chronicles of Narnia" at age 10. It was the start of my great love for books. My husband, on the other hand, has rarely read a book (besides his Bible) in his life! That seems so tragic to me. Missed opportunities? I don't really know, but now, even he enjoys our read alouds!

Get those books in order and read! What are you waiting for?

Math: Decision '08

So I get to the convention. Beeline it to RightStart to place my annual order. But I had a question. The question about what comes AFTER. That dreaded question that I will need an answer to in the next couple of years. No! It's not that far off. I'm long term planning, remember...so I've gotta "know".

Well, they point me to the next booth: "Video Text Interactive". Never heard of it. So I hear the shpeal. Not overwhelmed. Dollar signs flashing before my eyes, and all. I put the question behind me and move on.

Two aisles over I see this huge yellow banner and "Teaching Textbooks". Now them I've heard of briefly. I talk to the family manning the booth and am very impressed. Not only that, images of my son and his struggles with daily math are tearing me up and I start to have vain imaginings of a life without the words..."I hate math!"

I'm so encouraged that I call the husband and son at home for them to check out the website and play with the sample lessons. I go back to RightStart and cancel my order for the son.

Fast forward two days and I'm home checking the website. Husband doesn't like it. Son loves the computer part. I start looking at levels and realize their scope and sequence is WAY different from what we've been doing. Son is actually so far ahead of this program, instead of Math 4, he'd be closer to Math 7. Hmmm.

I start poking around on the site and realize there is NOTHING about who they are or what their methodology is. There is no INFORMATION. This begins to bug me. A LOT. Now, over at RightStart there is TONS of info. They not only go into their philosophy of teaching, but with research to back it up. This is what sold me on it in the first place! That and the glowing recommendations. Now, in all fairness to Teaching Textbooks, they have little videos on their site, but NONE of them worked so I have no idea what they say!

So, the hard part. Letting the son know that we were not going to use the totally "fun" video game math program. I was expecting tears and meltdown. What I got was..."Okay." Ahhhh! Music to my ears! I told him we'd stick with what we were doing and maybe find a math game for fun. He was content.

RightStart has been a great program for three years. The only reason we have any problems with it, I'm beginning to see, is the pressure I have put on him. Mostly to perform at a certain speed. Any speed other than slow motion. I have easily frustrated, and that has frustrated him. I repent!!! I've learned my lesson! I see the trees now...through the forest of practice problems!

So RightStart called me a couple of hours ago to verify my order. I had them re-add next year's level to the order and I still get the free shipping.

What can I say. When you have a good thing, stick with it! Don't question it!

Homeschool Blog Carnival

I'm participating in my very first Blog Carnival hosted by Principled Discovery. Check it out! There are sooo many moms sharing the best insights!